We must face facts - meat is the problem

[mspohr]

‘Historic failure’: pandemic tragedies in the meatpacking industry were decades in the making

Companies and regulators have been accused of treating workers as cogs in a machine that feeds America’s meat obsession. Covid-19 only exposed the human cost

www.theguardian.com

Early in the pandemic, Covid outbreaks were rampant in America’s meatpacking plants – the factories that kill, cut and package animals. But the chairman of one of America’s biggest meat companies, Tyson, argued that these factories should stay open to feed Americans. “It is as essential as healthcare,” John Tyson wrote in several newspaper ads. Days later President Donald Trump issued an executive order to keep meat plants running. The following month, 49 meatpacking workers died of Covid.

In the late-1980s, Osha found dozens of underreported injuries in large plants in Nebraska. Workers who were sick or hurt were pushed to keep working, or risk losing their jobs. The US Governmental Accountability Office (GAO) found similar practices in an investigation a few years ago, including one doctor who said injured meatpacking workers asked for medical permission to work “because their employer had threatened to fire them if they could not do their jobs”

As historian Wilson J Warren writes, the US meat industry transformed “from a relatively safe, well-paying industry employing primarily native-born white and Black people into an increasingly dangerous, low-paying industry employing a large number of immigrants”. And the ultimate goal for all of this was to improve the bottom line

 

[mspohr]

WATCH: Moby on the link between climate change and what we eat

To Moby, eliminating animal products from the global food-chain is essential for fighting climate change, and yet it has become the “third rail” of climate politics, he said.

www.pbs.org

The idea that a steady diet of meat and dairy could be destroying the planet, “even if you’re able to present people with rock-solid data,” is not something that most people or even climate activists want to face, said Grammy-winning musician and animal rights activist Moby.

To him, eliminating animal products from the global food-chain is essential for fighting climate change, and yet, he said, it has become the “third rail” of climate politics.

“Almost everybody shies away from talking about it,” Moby said.

 

[mspohr]

Brazil’s Amazon beef plan will ‘legalise deforestation’ say critics

The beef industry hopes a planned deforestation-free farming zone will tempt buyers back but many fear it will drive up illegal tree felling

www.theguardian.com

For many, the overriding image of agriculture in the Amazon is one of environmental destruction. About 80% of deforestation in the region has been attributed to cattle ranching, tainting beef exports. Brazil’s beef industry hopes to tempt buyers back to the Amazon region, which covers about 40% of the country’s total area, with a new deforestation-free pledge. But critics are concerned it could effectively legalise deforestation in the region.

 

[RSpanner]

NYT today>

How Leather Seats in Luxury SUVs Fuel Amazon Deforestation​

Hides from illegally deforested ranches can easily reach the global marketplace, a Times investigation found. In the U.S., high demand comes from automakers.

 

[mspohr]

How Leather Seats in Luxury SUVs Fuel Amazon Deforestation How Leather Seats in Luxury SUVs Fuel Amazon Deforestation

One morning this summer, Odilon Caetano Felipe, a rancher who raises cattle on illegally deforested land in the Amazon, met with a trader and signed over 72 newly fattened animals. With that stroke of the pen, Mr. Felipe gave his cattle a clean record: By selling them, he obscured their role in the destruction of the world’s largest rainforest.

A New York Times investigation into Brazil’s rapidly expanding slaughterhouse industry — a business that sells not only beef to the world, but tons of leather annually to major companies in the United States and elsewhere — has identified loopholes in its monitoring systems that allow hides from cattle kept on illegally deforested Amazon land to flow undetected through Brazil’s tanneries and on to buyers worldwide.

 

[mspohr]

Tony Seba predicted this

General Mills’ First Vegan Cheese Is Made With Animal-Free Whey

General Mills’ new vegan brand Bold Cultr makes vegan cheese using innovative animal-free whey protein.

vegnews.com

VegNews: General Mills' First Vegan Cheese Is Made With Animal-Free Whey. General Mills’ First Vegan Cheese Is Made With Animal-Free Whey

The startup’s whey-making process involves producing milk protein through precision fermentation, which introduces a protein blueprint to microflora that then takes the place of a cow in produces a functionally identical protein to dairy milk. Since the protein functions just like milk protein, Bold Cultr uses time-tested traditional cheesemaking techniques to blend and ferment it.

 

[mspohr]

Californian firm touts ‘mushroom leather’ as sustainability gamechanger

Vegan alternatives to leather could save more than just animals. The scientists behind fashion’s new latest must-have – the “mushroom leather” handbag – believe that mycelium, a material grown from fungi which can be engineered to look and feel like calfskin or sheepskin, could help save the planet.

A report by the Higg Materials Sustainability Index found bovine leather to wreak more environmental damage than any other fabric, including plastic-based synthetic leather, due to the deforestation and gas emissions associated with animal rearing.

 

[mspohr]

Hold the beef: McDonald’s avoids the bold step it must take to cut emissions

In recent years, the company announced big sustainability initiatives but climate experts who reviewed McDonald’s plans and data say the burger company is largely dodging the one bold step it must take to slash emissions: dramatically reducing the amount of beef it serves. “The naked truth is McDonald’s is in a business that is fundamentally at odds with the Earth’s integrity,” said Gidon Eshel, an environmental and urban studies research professor at Bard College. “No fig leaf, however persuasive or covering it is, can change that fact.
The staggering volume of meat requires the company and its suppliers to slaughter north of 7 million cattle, according to some estimations, and that comes at a steep cost to the environment: McDonald’s more than 53m metric tons of greenhouse gas produced in 2020 exceeds several European nations’ emissions.

 

[ArchEtech]

People would be better off with less corn syrup.

We don’t need Coke and Redbull.

People would be better off without alcohol.

We’d all be better off if there was government issued meal packs with the exact recommended caloric macros for every meal, and we all wore exactly the same clothes, and didn’t go to church.

Fewer deaths would occur if cars only had a maximum speed of 50mph.

Healthcare costs would be lower if people didn’t live as long.

The world might be better off if people didn’t reproduce so much.

But then again, I am really glad that we have freedom to make most choices on our own, though that seems to be constantly dwindling. We all should have the Guy Fawkes mask ready.

(In all seriousness, I would eat less meat if I had to kill, harvest and prepare the animal myself. I think most people would. It wouldn’t feel good and it’s frankly a lot of work for a meal! I’d probably eat a lot more eggs and fish than red meat. I don’t feel guilty for eating a steak though.)

 

[CyberGus]

People would be better off without alcohol.

You clearly haven't met my wife.

 

[mspohr]

People would be better off with less corn syrup.

We don’t need Coke and Redbull.

People would be better off without alcohol.

We’d all be better off if there was government issued meal packs with the exact recommended caloric macros for every meal, and we all wore exactly the same clothes, and didn’t go to church.

Fewer deaths would occur if cars only had a maximum speed of 50mph.

Healthcare costs would be lower if people didn’t live as long.

The world might be better off if people didn’t reproduce so much.

But then again, I am really glad that we have freedom to make most choices on our own, though that seems to be constantly dwindling. We all should have the Guy Fawkes mask ready.

(In all seriousness, I would eat less meat if I had to kill, harvest and prepare the animal myself. I think most people would. It wouldn’t feel good and it’s frankly a lot of work for a meal! I’d probably eat a lot more eggs and fish than red meat. I don’t feel guilty for eating a steak though.)

Nobody is going to restrict your freedumb. We are providing information. You can do what you want with that information. It's your choice.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Californian firm touts ‘mushroom leather’ as sustainability gamechanger

Vegan alternatives to leather could save more than just animals. The scientists behind fashion’s new latest must-have – the “mushroom leather” handbag – believe that mycelium, a material grown from fungi which can be engineered to look and feel like calfskin or sheepskin, could help save the planet.

A report by the Higg Materials Sustainability Index found bovine leather to wreak more environmental damage than any other fabric, including plastic-based synthetic leather, due to the deforestation and gas emissions associated with animal rearing.

Freethink, a YouTube channel filled with PR videos from companies trying to innovate, had a video from them.

 

[mspohr]

Boston Startup Gets FDA Approval for Protein That Makes Vegan Meat Taste Even Meatier

Motif FoodWorks heme-binding protein is created using precision technology and used to give plant-based meats the flavor and aroma of traditional meat products.

vegnews.com

Though myoglobin is found in the muscle tissue of cows, Motif has found a way to express it in a genetically engineered yeast strain. Created using precision technology, Motif’s HEMAMI offers the same characteristics as the animal-derived protein and can be used to enhance the flavor and aroma in plant-based burgers, sausages, and other meats. The primary function of animal-derived myoglobin is flavor but it also imparts a red hue when exposed to oxygen. The Color Additive Petition to give HEMAMI its distinct red coloring is being considered by the FDA

 

[mspohr]

vegnews.com: Meat Industry Pollution Linked to 90000 Premature Deaths in China, New Study Finds.

Meat Industry Pollution Linked to 90,000 Premature Deaths in China, New Study Finds

China’s growing meat consumption per capita is leading to higher ammonia emissions, a pollutant that has been linked to 90,000 premature deaths according to a joint study between Chinese University and Britain’s University of Exeter.

vegnews.com

In the US, agricultural production results in 17,900 annual air quality-related deaths, 15,900 of which are from food production. Of those, 12,720 (80 percent) are attributable to animal-based foods, both directly from animal production and indirectly from growing animal feed. These deaths are caused by things such as ammonia emissions that are found in livestock waste and in nitrogen-based fertilizers. “Dietary shifts toward more plant-based foods that maintain protein intake and other nutritional needs could reduce agricultural air quality-related mortality by 68 to 83 percent,” the researchers in this study concluded.

The meat industry’s harm is not limited to pollution alone and many studies have linked the consumption of meat to myriad health risks. One Oxford University cohort study published earlier this year—which analyzed the diets of 1.4 million people over the course of 30 years—found that daily consumption of meats such as bacon, steak, ham, and sausage led to an 18-percent increase in coronary heart disease.

 

[mspohr]

‘Poor meat and ill-treated animals’: Spain in uproar over minister’s remarks

Government distances itself from Alberto Garzón’s Guardian interview amid outrage in meat industry

www.theguardian.com

That is sustainable; what isn’t at all sustainable is these so-called mega-farms,” he said. “They find a village in a depopulated bit of Spain and put in 4,000, or 5,000 or 10,000 head of cattle. They pollute the soil, they pollute the water and then they export this poor-quality meat from these ill-treated animals.”

In an interview published on Boxing Day, Alberto Garzón, the minister for consumer affairs, defended traditional grazing “as an environmentally sustainable means of cattle farming”. “That is sustainable; what isn’t at all sustainable is these so-called mega-farms,” he said. “They find a village in a depopulated bit of Spain and put in 4,000, or 5,000 or 10,000 head of cattle. They pollute the soil, they pollute the water and then they export this poor-quality meat from these ill-treated animals

Garzón was previously attacked in July for urging Spaniards to reduce their meat consumption. “This doesn’t mean that we can’t have a family barbecue from time to time, just that we do it with a bit more restraint,” he said. “Eating too much meat is bad for our health and for the planet.”

 

[mspohr]

Love meat too much for Veganuary? Try Regenuary instead

But while many support the idea of regenerative farming, they argue that the priority should be to stop people eating meat. Simon Lewis, professor of global change science at University College London, says: “While I’m supportive of regenerative agriculture and community agriculture and protecting soil, I do think Regenuary is greenwash for eating meat and drinking dairy.” Lewis says we need to be clear on the science that plant-based diets are better for the planet, and he is worried movements like Regenuary are “muddying waters” on this issue

Avoiding meat and dairy is considered to be the biggest single way someone can reduce their impact on the planet. Scientific studies show humans farm about 4.1bn hectares (10.1bn acres) of land globally, and that if we all adopted a vegan diet, just 1bn hectares would be used. This would mean more space to protect wild habitats for nature and plant trees. This is the land “sparing” approach to wildlife protection.

 

[mspohr]

‘We started eating them’: what do you do with an invasive army of crayfish clones?

Lukas Bosch, the co-founder of Holycrab!, a biodiversity startup, hopes the marbled crayfish’s nutritional value will tempt Germans looking for sustainable alternatives to intensively farmed meat. The company is turning invasive species – from raccoons, Egyptian geese and wild boar to other crayfish, such as Chinese mitten crabs – into culinary delicacies, teaming up with top Berlin chefs to appeal to the ecological sensibilities of German diners. They have already sold the meaty tails of marbled crayfish on bread rolls and are experimenting with turning the animal’s high-value protein into rich fish stews and stocks. “As these crayfish have no natural predators, our thinking is, why can’t Berliners take on that role?” he says. “Rather than giving up meat, in this case, the more of it we eat the better.”

 

[mspohr]

America has a manure problem, and the miracle solution being touted isn’t all that it seems

Manure from animal agriculture is a primary source of nitrogen and phosphorus pollution in US waterways, making water undrinkable and causing algae blooms that kill wildlife. Manure is also a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions on livestock farms – and much of its impact depends, specifically, on how it’s managed and stored. Twelve per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions from the US agricultural sector come from what the EPA calls “manure management”.

Cattle are the highest methane-emitting livestock animal because of the way cows digest food. Unlike most other farmed animals, most of cattle’s methane emissions come from belches, not manure. And those methane emissions, known as enteric methane emissions, are responsible for a large chunk of overall greenhouse gas emissions from the food sector in the US – 25% by EPA figures. But digesters do nothing to address enteric methane.

It’s hard to talk about meat, dairy or egg farming without talking about poop. Manure plays a big role on American factory farms, and if not properly managed it can quickly turn into a big problem. Each year in the US livestock animals produce between 1.27 and 1.37bn tons of waste – or somewhere between three and 20 times more manure than people produce in the US.

 

[mspohr]

Greens v ‘beefatarians’: Europeans go to war over their dinner

Europeans love their meat, and they eat a lot of it. About 1.5kg a week is consumed by the average citizen of the EU27 – that’s twice the global average. But it is also clear that if there is to be any hope of reducing the impact of global heating, that consumption level will have to fall rapidly. Greenpeace estimates that it will need to drop by 70% by the end of the decade, and down to 300g by 2050. That translates (since not all the meat that leaves slaughterhouses ends up being either sold or eaten) to each European actually eating, per week, a quantity of meat equivalent to about two good-sized hamburgers.

The response to this news? Unenthusiastic, to say the least. Politically, balancing the priorities of environmental action against the clout of often powerful farming lobbies and the expectations of populations accustomed to consuming large quantities of unrealistically cheap meat looks nearly impossible.

 

[mspohr]

Tilting menus towards plants cuts meat eating, study shows


Tilting menus towards plant-based meals significantly cuts the amount of meat eaten, according to new research. The experiments in work and university cafeterias showed making it easier to choose meat-free food can be effective and could be a more acceptable approach than other proposals, such as taxing meat or banning it on certain days. Meat production is an important driver of the climate crisis and red meat in particular is linked to heart disease and other illnesses. Substantial falls in meat consumption are needed in rich nations to curb global heating and ill health.